Though they’ve gotten a deservedly bad reputation in recent years for doing serious crop damage, but not all stink bugs are crop pests. Some are beneficial and prey on other crop pests, especially in vegetable production.

Combined, the state winners of the 2014 Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year program have 350 years of farming experience, with scores of farming generations before them to boot. From one of the largest growers in the state to a Vietnam veteran, from a meticulous weed warrior to even a ‘city’ boy, their backgrounds and farming operations vary across the board.

The International Quarter Scale Tractor Student Design Competition took place recently in Peoria, Ill. The four-day event is where agricultural engineer students from across the country show off their skills, designing and building small-scale tractors with real-world power and providing student with real-world experience. The students hook the small tractors up for a pull contest, too.

Cool soils and wet conditions over the past few weeks have slowed Georgia's 2014 corn planting, but its full-on now at Raymond Thompson’s Seminole County farm near the Florida line. Early planted seed gives Deep South corn growers a chance at premium prices for a mid-July corn harvest.

Annually, Cotton Incorporated invites cotton producers from across the country to travel to North Carolina to tour its high-tech headquarters, which was established, built with, and funded by cotton check-off dollars.